A total of 25,529 jobless youths in Fiji have registered with the Ministry of Labour's National Employment Centre in order to get a decent job.
The youths are undergoing intensive training provided by the ministry to be suitable enough to enter the job market.
Labour Minister Jone Usamate said that as of August 2010 they had managed to provide professional counselling to 15,812 jobless graduates, aptitude assessment to 15,325, life skills training to 8803, employment skills training to 2662 and work attachments to 1384.
Mr Usamate said out of the 25,529 registered, 1078 managed to secure permanent employment, 296 entered into volunteer service and one for foreign employment.
He said the National Employment Centre had been effective in carrying out its mandate.
"The National Employment Centre cannot create jobs. That is something we can do by growing the economy," Mr Usamate said.
He outlined that there were two reasons why a large number of graduates were jobless, firstly because there was not enough jobs and secondly because of the possibility of a skills mismatch.
"For the past few years our economic growth has been slow, and job creation as well.
"New jobs are not being created to absorb the new graduates," Mr Usamate said.
He said the difference between what was being taught in tertiary institutions and what the employers of this country required of those who they hoped to recruit was another factor that needed to be considered.
Mr Usamate pointed out the budget of the National Employment Centre was insufficient to process all clients.
"The centre provides eight weeks employment skills training to develop generic and specific employment knowledge and skills that are relevant to the demand of the employment market," he said
A NEC statement says there are 9523 graduates of tertiary institutes who are jobless.